The Ancient Phoenix School of Opportunity
by Cat97Hermione
Summary: Harry is almost 11 years old and the letters to attend a magical school are being sent out. Harry's got his Hogwarts letter... but what's the other envelope for? Watch as Harry discovers the magical world outside of the Hogwarts influence... and that of his fame. ON HOLD!
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One;**_

Harry was quite happy. His relatives had gone on holidays, giving him (almost) free reign of the house. The list of chores was quite extensive, but he was happy to simply be able to do each individual chore without threat of punishment if he didn't finish it fast enough... or do it well enough. He was eating at the moment, another benefit of being alone. As long as he didn't take too much food every day, the Dursleys were not going to notice the absence- after all, a 3 week holiday does do wonders for making them forget exactly how much food they had stocked before they left. He was onto his second piece of toast when Harry heard the mail click. Putting the toast down for later, he walked into the hallway. There they were. A postcard, something that looked suspiciously like a bill... and two letters for him. Harry's heart jumped. No one had ever writtn to him before, but the letters were there, and there was no mistake. They were both written on a haevy, yellowish type of envelope. The first had curly emerald green ink adreiing it to him... down to his cupboard! The second one had more formal black ink, and it was solely adressed to; _Mr. Harry Potter._ Excited and slightly nervous, Harry carried the mail back into the kitchen. The bill and postcard went on the stack of mail for the Dursleys to open when they arrived home, and the letters for him he kept, flipping them over wondering if the letters were a joke or if someone had indeed written to him.

By the time Harry had finished his breakfast, he had decided. It was time to open the letters. He picked up the first one, the one with the emerald green ink and slit it open. The contents shocked him.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc, Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)**

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**

**Please find enclosed a list of all necesary books and equipment. **

**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours Sincerely, **

**Minerva McGonagall, **

**Deputy Headmistress **

Harry stared at the letter.

"Witchcraft and Wizardry? What is this? Is this a joke?" he whispered quietly. Even as he said it, though, images of every time he had done something to warrant a long punishment floated into his mind. The glass, appearing on the school roof, the jumper, the teachers hair, the plate, his hair... they all came crowding into his mind.

"Is that it?" he whispered, "Is it wizardry? Am I a wizard?" He shook his head and pulled out the second piece of parchment.

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY**

**UNIFROM**

**First-year students will require:**

**1.** **Three sets plain work robes (black)**

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

**3. One pair protective gloves (dragonhide or similar)**

**4. One winter cloack (black, silver fastenings)**

**Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.**

**COURSE BOOKS**

**All students should each have a copy of the following:**

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk**

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

**Magical Theory by Aldabert Waffling**

**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch**

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

**OTHER EQUIPMENT**

**1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)**

**1 set glass or crystal phials**

**1 telescope set**

**1 brass scales**

**Students may also bring and owl OR a cat OR a toad**

**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS**

"Wow," Harry breathed, "I don't think the Dursleys have much of an imagination, but this is so weird..." Shaking his head, he pulled the second envelope towards him and slit it open.

**Dear Mr. Potter, **

**We are pleased to inform you that you have met the requirements to attend the Ancient Phoenix School of Opportunity. We are aware that this school is seen as a myth in the magical community, but the truth is we are particular about knowledge of our school getting out, which is why were have a cover name of Salem Institute of Magic. If you choose to accept your position at our school, please place your finger on the red mark at the bottom of this invitation. If you regect, please do the same on the black mark. Please note that in the case of regection, this invitation will burn and you will have no recollection of it for our own safety. **

**Should you choose to acccept, a school representative will be at your place of residence in an hour to assist you in preparing for school. **

**Congratulations on achieving a place at our prestigious school, **

**Sincerely**

**Ancient Phoenix School of Opportunity.**

Harry gaped at the letter. An invitation to two different schools of magic... and Dudley didn't get one! If they were real, he would be able to work as hard as he could because his marks couldn't be compared to his cousins. What did he have to lose? He was thoroughly ridiculed daily, surely accepting one of these invitations if they were fake would be no worse. That got Harry thinking.

The second letter provided a means of acceptance, Hogwarts didn't. Surely pressing his finger to a splotch of ink wouldn't be noticed if it was fake... but for some reason he thought that it was a real letter. It had to be. The second one sounded like a better school, too... Harry braced himself and pressed his finger to the red spot at the bottom of the second invitation and felt a shoot of warmth flow through his arm for a brief second before it was gone as though nothing had happened.

Harry spent the next hour doing his chores feverishly, getting them done faster than ever before in his excitement. He just _knew _that the letters were real, though he still couldn't come up with a good reason for it.

Exactly and hour had passed since he pressed the button when there was a knock on the door. Harry rushed to answer it and there was a man standing there. He was tall, with bright amber eyes and long dark brown hair that fell in waves to his collarbone. There were scars all over his body and he was tanned and well muscled. Harry gulped. He was intimidating.

"Come in, sir," he said quietly when he got his voice back. The man inclined his head.

"Unless your guaridans are here, that would be unnecessary. My name is Charles Thomas, and I am a representative from the Ancient Phoenix School of Opportunity. You are Harry Potter?"

"I am, sir," he said, and Charles nodded.

"Hello, Mr. Potter, you can call me Charles if you like. Do you need to get anything, or can you come now?"

"Um, Sir, I don't have any money," he said.

"Not to worry, your parents left you quite a lot of it- they left it in the bank. How much do you know of the magical world?"

"Nothing... uh... Charles," he said, "I'd never heard of the magical world until an hour ago."

"Oh, this will take some explaining," he said quietly to himself before turning to Harry, "Can I take you up on your earlier offer of coming into the house?"

"Of course, Charles," he said, stepping out of the way of the door.

"Thank you," he nodded as he crossed the threshold and Harry led him to the sitting room.

"Harry, first off, the magical world is very real... as you might have guessed. Your position in it is larger than you know as well. You see, Harry, there was a man, about 40 years ago that started to become quite famous as a very dangerous man. He had certain ideals and thought that anyone that disagreed with him should end up dead. One of those ideals was that muggles- people that have no magic- should die as well. He started a war, Harry, similar to the one Hitler began but in the magical world. People with even one muggle parent- or grandparent- were being killed for no reason. People with magic in their family for ages but disagreed were being murdered as well, and he sent raids to terrorise all people. His terror was so great that people trusted no one. Your best friends were soon as terrifying as your worst enemy as you had no idea who was following the man. No one celebrated, people went around with their heads down hoping that they and their family would live through the day." Harry gasped, and Charles nodded grimly.

"It was a terrible time for magical Europe, Harry. Your father had magic in every family member for hundreds of centuries, but he disagreed with the Dark Lord- his name was Voldemort. Your mother had two muggle parents, and that made them both targets. They had you and went into hiding, but it wasn't enough. On Halloween about 10 years ago, Voldemort came to your house. He killed both of your parents, before turning on you. He said the deadly curse that had _never_failed before at you, Harry. You would have died, but it rebounded and hit Voldemort instead. He died, and the magical world celebrated in a way they hadn't been able to for years. They crowned you- a one year old baby- as their champion and gave you the title of the Boy-Who-Lived. Everyone in magical Britain knows your name, and your scar is ledgendary as well- as that it where the curse hit you and left it's mark. When you enter the magical world, Harry, if people see your scar you will be mobbed like a celebrity." Harry gasped, shocked.

"Did he really die?" Charles shook his head.

"And here I was hoping that you wouldn't ask that question. No, Harry, don't apologise, it was a very good question. The answer is no, he didn't though most people think that he did. At school, we have a book of prophecies. When the prphecy is fulfilled, it disappears from the book. We have a habit of checking the book for any prophecies regarding a new student, and there was one about you, Harry- and Voldemort. It said; 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...' I'm sorry that this got heaped on you so young, but you do have a right to know that," he said gently.

"So," sniffed Harry, "you are telling me that I either have to murder him, or be killed?"

"No! No, Harry. Voldemort is a murderer, he kills people for fun. The person that kills him- not murders- is saving the lives of hundreds of people, not murdering him. He is not human anymore, anyway, and he should have theoretically died years ago. You won't be a murderer," he said.

"I think I get it," Harry said a little more brightly, "if he goes away then he can't kill more people. But he won't go away by himself, so I need to help him do that."

"That's an interesting way of putting it, Harry, but essentially yes, he needs to be killed to stop him from murdering lots of people and when you have worked hard and learnt more about magic and combat, you will be able to do that." Harry nodded solemnly.

"I will work really hard then," he said. Charles held in a chuckle.

"Don't forget to have fun, though, Harry," he said. "Now, are you ready to go and buy your school things?" Harry nodded eagerly.

"Yes, I'm ready!" he said, "but when does school start?"

"Actually, it starts in a week," said Charles sheepishly, "so you might need to stay somewhere else for a few days. Now, we are going to go to a place in Salem called Corey Town to buy your supplies. We are going to get there buy a mode of transport called apparition, which is where you move from one place to another almost instantly, though it is a little uncomfortable. You will learn how to do this yourself, but for now you just need to hold onto me as tight as you can and not let go until we get there. Can you do that?" Harry nodded nervously.

"Okay, grab my left hand- it's easier for me," said Charles, holding it out for the little boy. Harry hesitated for less than a second before he grabbed hold and was sucked into the horrible sensation defined as 'apparition.' When they landed in Corey Town, Harry paused for a second before he looked up at Charles.

"I've done that before," he said shyly, "I was running away from Dudley and his gang and then I did that and was suddenly on the roof of the kitchens," he giggled, "I got into a lot of trouble for it, but the teachers were really funny. They spent the rest of the term trying to work out how I got up there." Charles stared at him.

"That is very advanced magic, Harry, you are going to be a very powerful wizard one day if you work hard enough," he said slowly, "apparition is also dangerous, so to do it properly without knowing how to is incredible but I don't suggest trying it again for a while, okay?"

"Okay," said Harry softly, looking a little dejected.

"Harry, we need to get some of your money out of the bank before we can buy any of your things. In Brittain, they have a huge bank guarded by goblins and the main vaults are usually there. It's a really amazing bank. Because all of the money is usually kept there, we have a small bank here but it is quite different. You go in there and pick up an empty money bag. We will have to put a drop of your blood on it and wait for the blood to sink in before we hand it over to the goblin in charge. He will use some of his magic to link it to your vault and then you will be able to take money directly out of the bag. Once he has done that, we will pay him a galleon, which is a gold coin, and then we can leave. Do you get that?"

"I get it, " said Harry, "goblins sound dangerous, though."

"They are, so don't get on the goblin's bad side by pointing, or staring or being rude, alright?" Harry nodded.

"Good, let's go!" said Charles. Corey Town was a strange place, in Harry's opinion. The had apparated into the apparition point, which was a patch of grass in the town centre. The streets spread from the town centre, the closest buildings on each were shops and the further ones were townhouses. The main street was all shops, though, and the council building was at the end much larger than everything surrounding it. The bank was on that (admittedly short) street and that was where they were headed. Harry's short legs were not much help, but finally they made it to the french-style building and entered. A small bell sounded and a short goblin that was seated at the counter at the back of the room looked up for a brief second before going back to his book of numbers. There was no one else in there. Charles quickly pointed Harry over to the rack of money bags. There was hundreds of them, all different colours. Harry picked out a silver one with gold hemming and showed it to Charles. The older man then pointed out the small, bronze dagger on the bench beside them. Harry gulped and held out his hand for Charles to take the blood from- he didn't feel like doing it himself. The dagger slid neatly across his palm, stinging a little before it healed as though nothing had happened, and only one drop of blood managed to fall in that time. They waited as it soaked into the bag and them took it up to the counter. Charles cleared his throat.

"We would like to activate this money withdrawal bag, please," he said in a formal tone. The goblin looked up and Harry immediately saw the reason for the formality. He gulped. The goblin took the bag without acknowledging either of them and dipped it in a liquid before beginning to chant in another language that sounded gravelly and strange. A few seconds later the goblin looked up and sneered.

"Which vault are you connecting it to?" Charles looked surprised.

"Harry has more than one vault?"

"There are four, a family vault, one under the name of James Charlus Potter, Lily Evans-Potter and a trust vault for Harry James Potter." Harry's eyes widened. Charles looked down at him and Harry shrugged, his eyes still wide.

"Is it possible to combine all four?" Charles asked finally.

"Yes, however it is only possible to retrieve money, not the aritfacts residing in the family vaults." Charles sighed.

"We will do that then, thanks," he said. Harry watched as the goblin nodded and began speaking in the other language again for a few seconds before he handed the bag over.

"One galleon," he sneered. Harry looked at Charles, confused.

"Just say one galleon, and you will be able to pull it out of the bag," he explained, and Harry nodded.

"One Galleon," he muttered and put his hand in the bag before pulling the coin out. Beaming, he handed it over to the goblin and they walked out, Charles holding a statement of how much he had in the now-combined vault.

"What language was that?" Harry asked when they left the bank.

"Gobbledegook," replied Charles, "Goblin language. Very difficult to understand, even harder to speak." Harry nodded and watched as Charles stopped to read the bank statement.

"Wow, Harry," he said finally, "you could probably afford to buy all of magical Brittain, and that is larger than Magical America. We will definitely be able to buy your school supplies." Harry gaped.

"My family was rich?"

"Very."

"And to think, Uncle and Aunt called them unemployed drunks that couldn't afford to keep me," he grumbled, "thank you, Charles." Charles looked faintly annoyed at what he had just heard, but he nodded.

"We might get your uniform first," he said, "and you might need some more casual clothing as well judging from what you are currently wearing." Harry nodded sheepishly, and thanked him as they walked towards the store labelled 'Corey Town Robbe Shoppe.' It looked almost like a cottage on the outside, but the inside was fairly modern in Harry's eyes, though he had never gone shopping for clothes. Charles pulled a list out of his pocket.

**ANCIENT PHOENIX SCHOOL OF OPPORTUNITY**

**BOYS UNIFORM**

**Black work robes, silver and purple trimming**

**Winter cloak, black- gold fastenings, silver trimming**

**Standard quality wand holster**

**Plain duelling robes (black, silver or purple)**

**Protecting gloves (dragon or basilisk hide)**

**Plain black boots, silver edges. **

'**Salem standard scarf'**

**Pointed hat, black, silver and purple edging**

Harry stared at it for a few seconds.

"Their uniform is slightly more extensive than the Hogwarts uniform," he said weakly.

"I thought you only found out about magic today?" he said sharply. Harry looked at him.

"The Hogwarts acceptance letter came today as well, but I decided this one... as I could actually see how to respond," he said quietly, and Charles nodded.

"We can get these tailored to suit you, the owner used to attend Ancient Phoenix so we can show him the list," he said and Harry sighed in relief. Almost on cue, the owner came out.

"Charles! Haven't seen you for a while... new student?" He added the last a little sharply. Charles nodded and the owner relaxed.

"So you're here for the new uniform?"

"Yes, Harry here is starting at Phoenix next week and we need the whole thing. I'm thinking msybe 4 of the standard robes, 2 of the cloaks and duelling robes and one of everything else," said Charles and the owned nodded.

"just step up here, Harry, we'll get you sorted out now," he said, "and don't worry, the uniform looks better than it sounds." Harry almost laughed, but held it in. He wasn't sure if the man was trying to be funny or not- why would the uniform look bad?

Very soon, the uniform was done and Charles stepped in again.

"Harry is also going to need... a complete wardrobe." The owner looked surprised, but they ended up leaving the store with many more robes than just the uniform along with a pair of pyjamas and some more cmfortable footwear.

"You only have to wear a uniform to class," explained Charles when they had left, "and you can't really wear that on campus. It's best you get robes, anyway, muggle clothing stands out too much around the magical world and they are more comfortable and easy to move in when you get used to them." Harry just nodded, feeling a little dazed. Another piece of parchment then came out of Charles' robe pocket.

**ANCIENT PHOENIX SCHOOL OF OPPORTUNITY**

**COURSE BOOKS (First Year)**

**The Practical Charm Handbook- Primer by Sandra Burnwick**

**Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Gowshawk**

**Defending against Dark Arts by James Thimble**

**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble**

**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger**

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore**

**Runic Alphabets by Stewart Gibbons**

**Numerology and Grammatica by Thomas Numuric**

**Transfiguration, Volume I by Griselda Marchbanks**

**A Beginners' Guide to Trandfiguration by Emeric Switch**

**Magical Theory by Aldabert Waffling**

**The Encycolopaedia of Magical Plants by Phyllida Spore**

**The Culture Of Early Magical Society by John Deminus**

**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot**

**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander**

**Understanding the Constellations by Sirius Canidus**

**EQUIPMENT**

**Cauldron, pewter, standard size 2**

**Cauldron, brass, standard size 2**

**Brass stirrers**

**Potions Knife Set (silver and brass)**

**Glass or Crystal phials**

**Brass scales**

**Standard set potions ingredients**

**Telescope Set**

**Standard English Sword (and sheath)**

**Katana (and sheath)**

**Throwing Knives (and holsters)**

**Staff (non-magical)**

**Wand**

**Ink, quills and parchment**

**Notebooks**

**Students may bring one pet that is not liable to kill other students.**

Harry stared at the list.

"Phoenix is sounding slightly more relaxed about safety than Hogwarts," he said faintly.

"Hogwarts has to be stricter. Not only does it have larger numbers, the only excercies they offer is quidditch- which first years aren't allowed to play, and they only have the house teams- seven people from each house stretching form second to seventh year. They have _hundreds _of students, Harry, _hundreds,_ and they only offer excercie for 28 of them. They just don't get rid of their energy! Then, they don't have formal duelling classes, so the students opt to do it in the hallways and sneaking around at night instead! No teachers around make it a lot more dangerous," he said, "and they split the students into houses, so there are rivalries there."

"There's no houses at Phoenix?"

"No, we only accept four boys and four girls each year, so we don't have enough students for a house system. Instead, we have dorm checks and things which earn rewards." Harry nodded.

"What do we geet now?"

"Let's go to S and G Hopkins to get your books," said Charles distractedly. Harry nodded happily.

"You know that it is the same as the Hogwarts books, but with more of them?"

"We tend to do that." They entered the bookstore, and while Charles picked up the mandatory books, Harry went around and picked up the ones that looked interesting or important to him, such as the ones aimed at 'muggleborns' and their entry into the wizarding world, books on jinxes and hexes, Quidditch and another one that he felt might put him to sleep; _The Self-Updating book of Magical Laws_ which was split by international, national and state laws- of each country with a magical society. Charles laughed when he saw it.

"I'm going to need somethnig to put me to sleep," he said when Charles asked why he bought it. For some reason, that made him laugh even harder. Harry sniffed and followed Charles to Potions Stuffs and JR Fletcher's Magical Things to buy his potions things and telescope.

"We need to get your weapons and holsters now," said Charles nervously, "and this will be a slightly different store." Harry nodded, wondering what 'different' meant- everything was already so different to what he was used to! They wandered towards 'Salems Sports and Leisure Supplies' and when they entered, Harry was confused. There was no weapons in here, just brooms and other sporting equipment. Charles seemed to know what he was doing, though, when he walked towards the back wall and whispered 'Phoenix.' Sure enough, an archway opened up and they stepped through it quickly- thankfully, as it closed almost immediately. Harry looked around and was immediately intimidated. Gleaming weapons covered the walls and racks filled the floor space.

"Okay, Harry- each weapon is different as they like to choose their owner. We don't know how or why, but a weapon that calls for you will work much better than picking up any old weapon. It usually suits you completely, the weight will feel right in your hand and it will balance perfectly. So, we will start with the traditional English sword. You need to stand in front of them and close your eyes. Just let the right weapon pull you towards it." Harry nodded and stood in front of them before closing his eyes, wondering what Charles meant- he didn't have to wait long. Almost immediately, he felt something calling to him over the far end. He walked towards it until he was right in front and lifted his hand to pick it up. Once it was in his hand, he opened his eyes and gasped. Charles was right, The sword with its gleaming gold hilt felt perfect in his hand- as though it was merely an extenstion of it.

"It feels perfect," said Harry to Charles, "this is my sword." Charles smiled and held his hand out to take it while Harry searched for his katana. Harry went through the same process while Charles found the matching sheath for each one. The same happened with the wooden staff.

"The throwing knives are different again, Harry," said Charles, "as you need more than one. You find the perfect knife and we will then find the ones closest to it in weight and size and get them as well. Then, we will have to get holsters for them to go on your belt which we haven't bought yet, and your thighs," he said. Harry nodded and repeated the process, picking up a short, extremely dangerous-looking knife and soon Charles helped him find others almost identical to it. They collected the holsters and a belt to hang some of them off. Charles then picked up a bag from close to the entrance and slipped all of the new things into it before telling Harry to leave 20 galleons in the slot. Once the money was in there, the entrance opened up again and they were back in the normal part of the store. Charles let Harry look around for a while before they left.

"The store owner doesn't know about the weaponry there, as it is owned by Phoenix. The bag that you're holding is only visible to people that know about the school, so the owner has no idea that you just bought deadly weapons inside his building," said Charles. Harry nodded bemusedly. It was weird.

"Scrivenshafts next," said Charles, "we need to get you some writing supplies. This is just a branch store, like Gringotts. The main store is in a town called Hogsmeade in Scotland." They entered the quaint little store and Harry immediately liked it. It had a strange smell, but it was nothing like the apothocary. It was nice. They picked up stacks of parchment- the 'Student Package- of it, in fact, which was apparently designed when the store got sick of students rushing in every day when they ran out and then complaining that they were handing in essays too late because of it. There was a similar 'Student Package' for quills and ink, so Harry just bought the more interesting inks and quills seperate from the package. They also found notebooks. They were designed to never run out of pages, and Charles told him that 10 was the ideal number of them, so he got 10 of them each a different colour. He was really enjoying being able to buy his own supplies.

That was the time that the hunger set in, so Charles led him to the 'Colonial Cafe/Cookery' to eat lunch before they continued shopping- Charles had begun to complain about the weight of the bags he was carrying, and Harry was close to it so they bought a trunk and bookbag from the luggage store. Harry liked the fact that they were magically expanded on the inside to fit much more than it looked possible, and the trunk was able to shrink to a quarter of the size on command! It was brilliant.

"Now we just need to get your wand, and a pet if you would like one," said Charles later in the afternoon.

"I'm not sure about a pet, if I have to go back to the Dursleys they wouldn't like it," said Harry nervously.

"Well, we can deal with that later, then," said Charles decisively as they walked towards the wandstore- 'Howland's Wandstore for Multiple of Centuries.' The store felt different from any other Harry had been in so far- the air seemed to tingle and it felt almost like a bookshop- the silence felt like an unwritten rule, breaking it would have a severe punishment. He gulped.

In a huge contrast, the owner was a friendly young woman with chocolate-brown eyes and hair.

"Hello! Who needs a wand?" she asked cheerfully, and Harry immediately relaxed.

"I do," he said and she nodded.

"Are you right or left handed?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry, "no one's ever really told me so I jut use whichever." She glanced at Charles for a second befor turning back to him.

"Okay, I'll get you to hold this in each hand, one at a time and tell me which one feels more comfortable," she said kindly and Harry smiled before taking it in his right hand. It felt awkward and strange, so he swapped it over to his left. There, it still felt odd but he was sure he could get used to it.

"Left," he said finally and the woman smiled at him.

"Good! Now we find your wand." She muttered a strange spell and waved her wand at him and a piece of parchment came out the end.

"This is a character evaluation, only wandmakers are taught it," she explained, "knowing a person's personality makes it easier for me to narrow the wand selections down." Harry nodded in understanding.

"It says that you are abnormally brave and courageous, but it shows through mostly in dangerous or life-threatening situations... the opposite of most people, you perform best under pressure... loyal to a fault with friends, but you don't give out trust like candy, intelligent but not a bookworm... you can be cynical and cunning, too, but not in everyday situations. Interesting, not many people like that. I'm thinking phoenix feather, or griffin claw... maybe both, dual core is for the more interesting personalities, anyway... holly would go well with the loyalty and I can tell that you have power, so it would go well with that as well... intelligent and sometimes cunning when the situation calls for it, performing under pressure... might use an emerald focus... hmmm... I'm going to craft this seperately, we don't stock anything that would work perfectly for you," she mused, "so I will need you to wait for a while while I craft it... or you could come back in an hour or so. Yes, that would work. I think I'll create this properly and use blood to seal it properly, make it work only for you... this is brilliant, I'm going to enjoy the challenge! Thank you for shopping here."

"So... we should come back in an hour," confirmed Charles.

"Oh, yes, sorry about that, I can ramble when I'm excited," she blushed, and Charles nodded.

"Come on, Harry, we'll come back and pick up your wand later," he said and Harry nodded before following him out the door.

"I think we will get you a pet, if you want one Harry, as it can always stay at... school if you go home for the summer. Would you like one?" he asked and Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"I really would like a pet, Charles, Dudley has had lots but he never looks after them properly," he said, "but I'm sure that I could treat it properly." Charles nodded and led him to the menagerie.

"Try to get a pet that doesn't have poison running through it," he said before letting Harry explore. Harry looked everywhere, trying to find the one that he really loved. None of the owls or cats really called for him, and he had almost finished looking through the dogs when he saw it. He was a tiny black miniature labrador puppy with bright jewel green eyes. Harry immediately loved him and the sign saying he was 12 galleons wasn't bad either. The name "Midnight" was pinned onto the lonely cage, and Harry opened it and pulled Midnight out.

"Careful!" the assistant called, "that one keeps scratching everyone who tries to..." but he trailed off as Midnight curled up contentedly in his arms.

"Well I never," he said, "that dog's yours, no doubt about it. Would you like to pay or not?" Harry smiled, unsure if that was a joke.

"It was a joke," Charles whispered in his ear, "he doesn't mean it." And Harry nodded. He picked up a lead, food, treats, some bowls, a basket, toys and other supplies before he took them all up to the counter and paid. They registered Midnight as Harry's and had the tracking spells placed on him, and had him checked for any illnesses before Harry took him out of the store happily- Midnight just as happy with his tail waving madly in the air.

"Your wand should be ready now," said Charles after they put all of Midnight's new things in his trunk and re-shrunk it, "we can go and pick it up now." Harry nodded happily and the three of them walked back to the wand store.

"You're back," the owner said happily when she saw them, "I just have to seal it, and I was planning on using some of your blood to make it stronger if you would allow me." Harry looked at Charles.

"If that is all you are going to use it for," he said.

"Of course!" she sounded offended, "I will vanish any blood that isn't used in the wand immediately... you can do that if you don't trust me." Charles nodded.

"Harry, if you are okay with supplying blood, you can do this," he said and Harry nodded. 10 minutes later, a gleaming wand was lying on the counter and the owner- Thalia- was explaining how to take care of it. He paid the 30 galleons for the wand and the cleaning equipment and they left the store.

"Now you have a few options, Harry," said Charles, "the first is that I can drop you back off at your Aunt and Uncles house for the rest of the week..." he trailed off as Harry cried 'no!' in a voice that was not loud, but clearly fearful. Charles nodded.

"We can rent you a room in an apartment that takes dogs, or... you have enough money, you could buy a cottage or flat here in Corey Town and you could stay there in the holidays, but you would need to make sure that you take care of it and yourself properly," he said. Harry looked thoughtful.

"I really want to buy my own place," he said finally, "and I know that I can look after it and myself properly as I always do that at the Dursleys, but would I be allowed?" Charles smiled reassuringly.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if it wasn't allowed. We would put it down under the Potter name for you," and Harry relaxed.

"Can I do that then?" and Charles nodded.

"Great!" Harry cheered, "Never going back to the Dursleys again!" Harry bounced towards the Real Estate agent, dragging Charles behind him.

"Come on," he said happily, "this is so exciting!" Charles rolled his eyes but Harry could still see the smile on his face.

"alright, I'm coming," he said, "keep your hair on!" Harry had too much fun in the Real Estate agent for Charles' liking, trying to decide between a small cottage at the edge of the town and a flat nearer the shops. The cottage won, though, as the wards would allow him to practice magic when he was not at school as well as giving him a better warning if the place was in danger. It was empty, so the only thing they had to so was buy it and they could move in immediately- and it was furnished already. They bought it under the name 'Potter,' then Charles dragged Harry to the wizarding supermarket to buy enough _healthy_ supplies so that he could eat proper meals for the rest of the week.

Finally, Harry was able to go to his new cottage. While he was exploring and unpacking the food and Midnight's belongings, (the rest was staying in his trunk for the week; except for when it was in use) Charles was drafting a couple of letters.

_Dear Mr. And Mrs. Dursley,_

_Your nephew, Harry Potter, has been accepted into Salem Institue of Magic. Congratulations. He has elected to go on a program allowing him to stay at school year round, so we regret to inform you that it is unlikely you will ever have him in your house again. _

_Kind Regards,_

_Charles Thomas,_

_Salem Representative._

_Albus Dumbledore,_

_I regret to inform you that Harry Potter is rejecting your offer to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, having been accepted into another._

_Kind Regards,_

_Charles Thomas,_

_Representative of Salem Institute of Magic_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two;**_

The next week was the best that Harry could remember. He woke early as he was used to doing at the Dursleys, but instead of preparing the breakfast for three ungrateful relatives, he was able to go for a run- something he had dreamed of doing for a long time. Harry liked speed and running as it made him feel free. The wards of the property let him practice magic as well, so he was able to begin to practice a few of the spells in his new textbooks. He was particularly good at the leg-locker curse, one of the few he had managed to try. Charles had made him promise to eat 3 healthy meals a day, and get to sleep at a regular time but he still felt more lazy than he could ever remember being before. The textbooks he had bought were extremely interesting and writing with a quill was more fun than the biros they supplied at the primary school he had attended in Little Whinging. The best part of the week, though, was on the second day.

Harry had finished reading a book on Quidditch and he thought that it sounded amazing. He was particularly looking forward to getting on a broom as the speed would far exceed that which he could get running. He had tried to wait and learn at Ancient Phoenix, but he was just too excited. Harry had jogged into town with his money bag and gone straight into the sporting and leisure store. There, he had purchased a book on proper broom riding technique and then asked the owner about his brooms. He wasn't disappointed when the owner pointed out the Nimbus 2000. Harry had thanked the man and raced home as quickly as he could to try it out. He had read the book impatiently, and finally dared to try the broom.

He hadn't needed to read the book, or worry at all- it just came naturally, and Harry loved it. Never before had something felt so easy, so natural- so _free. _For the rest of the day, he completely forgot about the books he had lined up to be read, the spells he wanted to try. It was just him, the broom and the air.

After that day, the run had been followed by flying, and he had gotten more and more daring as the days went on. He knew he was good at it, though he had never seen anyone else fly and decided that when he played Quidditch, he would attempt to play seeker as it sounded the most interesting to him- and the most fun. The stunts the book showed them doing looked amazing! For the first time, Harry wanted to stay home, enjoying the holidays, and was almost disappointed when it was time to leave to go to school.

The students had been asked to meet inside a small store at the edge of Corey Town, and Harry only took 10 minutes to walk there- and was early by a long way. The older students apparently were meeting elsewhere, but the first-years needed directions. Thankfully, there were only 8 of them, and Charles. They were taken out the back door, and to the general astonishment, they were standing at the edge of a forest, with a small horse-drawn carriage next to them.

"Climb in," said Charles in amusement when he saw all 8 11year olds gaping at him, "it's your ride to school. The older years go on horseback, but we need to get your riding skills up to an acceptable level before we allow you to do that as well. So jump in!" The carriage was black, but there were silver and purple lines around near the edges and a golden phoenix painted on the door. Harry thought it looked incredible, and the plush purple seats on the inside furthered his opinion of them.

"The ride will take us around 30 minutes," said Charles, "but we will spend the time getting to know each other as you will spend the next 7 years of your life with the people in this carriage."

"I'm first," said a tall boy nearest Charles. His light brown hair was in spikes and he had deep blue eyes, "My name is Stephen Carter and I come from Texas. I like having fun, but when people are hurting I'm usually the first to help," he had a fun, teasing note in his voice and Harry felt himself calming down.

"Me next!" The girl next to him said cheerfully. She looked taller than most people her age, but still not 'tall,' with light green eyes. Her dark red hair hung in soft waves down her back, "I'm Sarah King and my family lives in California," she had the same playful tone as Stephen in her voice.

"Michelle Green," the girl next to her said. She looked like a fighter, fit and strong with blonde hair and deep blue eyes, a little shorter than Sarah, "and I grew up in Sydney."

"Michael Davis," a boy lazed in his seat, dirty blonde wavy hair hanging into light blue eyes, "I grew up in Canada but we moved to Ohio about a year ago."

"Harry Potter," Harry finally admitted, "I grew up in Surrey, England, but I moved to Corey Town about a week ago."

"Laura Miller," she had short black hair hanging in waves, with shockingly violet eyes, "My family and I live in Moscow."

"I live in Madrid," a girl with dark brown skin and eyes, with long wavy brown hair said, "and my name is Angela Fernandez." The last boy sniffed. He was the shortest of them all, with wavy black hair (the opposite- long!) and chocolate brown eyes.

"My name's James Smith and I live in Las Vegas..." he trailed off.

"Well as you all know, I'm Charles Thomas- the representative from the Ancient Phoenix School of Opportunity... or as some people know it, Salem Institute of Magic."

"Why does it have two names, though?" asked Michael.

"Salem Institute of Magic has a good reputation," Charles explained, "people have heard of it and it is known for producing graduates who are skilled in magic, and the curriculum is known to be tame and safe as that is what we advertise. People are often on the waiting list, but they never seem to be accepted into the school," he smirked, "if people knew what was really taught, the reputation would be ruined and people would be terrified of our graduates."

"What do you teach?" asked Angela curiously.

"We spend the mornings working on fitness, duelling, riding, and things like that," he said, "and in the afternoons we work on your basic curriculum- the same as the other schools, though we do have a rather unique way of teaching which you will discover a little later. It helps us to teach you things faster so that you are still ahead of your counterparts at other schools even though you spend less time in classes. The smaller number of people helps as well."

"We learn duelling? Brilliant!" said Michelle excitedly, and a few of the people around her edged away slowly after they saw the fierce glint in her eyes. Harry had similar feelings to Michelle, though.

"Do you have a Quidditch team?" Charles smirked.

"There's only eight of you, so all of you will be on your year team except for one who will be announcer... we will decide that later on, unless one of you is really against flying?"

"Ooh, I'd rather announce than fly," said Stephen, "I can be good at talking, but my brilliant co ordination is much more noteworthy on the ground than in the sky."

"Fine with me," said Angela," I'd much rather fly than talk! I'm a Chaser... not that I've played in a proper game before."

"Anyone else got positions that they prefer?" asked Stephen? Harry decided that it was his chance now.

"I like Seeker," he said, "though I've never played properly either." Laura nodded,

"Yeah, Harry, you look like a Seeker," she said, "you're small but you look fast as well. If you can handle a broom you'd be better there. I'm a Chaser, by the way."

"What's with all the Chasers?" asked Sarah, "that's my position as well!" James sniffed.

"Well if you three all have to be Chasers, I suppose I can play Beater instead."

"Hey! Stop speaking as if beater is a bad position," said Michelle, "because you will be joining me there!"

"What a coincidence," said Michael lightly, "that I was going to suggest myself for Keeper. Not much of a flyer myself, but I can block a goal or two." Charles chuckled.

"You don't know how often we have a carriage full of eight Chasers... or beaters... we never have a perfect team, but you've just done that!"

"Who are the teachers at Ancient Phoenix?" asked Angela.

"We call them Masters here, but there is Freddie Whitley- Master Whitley to you- as Swords Master, Maddison Cooke for Combat- she teaches with and without wands and magic, Terrence Hyde for Riding, Care of Magical Creatures is Isabella O'Neil, Kirk Rasmussen takes Transfiguration. Sophia Finch for Charms, Daryl Hendrix for Potions, Emma Dale for History of Magic, Dave Kirkland for Herbology... Olivia McCray for Astronomy, Johnnie Lancaster for Ancient Runes. What am I missing? Oh, Ava Sharpe for Arithmancy and Jamie McGowan takes Defence against the Dark Arts."

"So we call them all Master?"

"Only Master Whitley insists on that, but until they tell you otherwise, you should," he said.

"So that's the tea- masters," said Angela, "who else is there?"

"I'm the representative, obviously, Abigail Chaney is the Headmistress, and Deputy Headmistress is Chloe Millen. Caretaker is Emily Fitzpatrick, Hugh Bright is the Careers Advisor and Damen Hooper is the Liaison Officer. That's all."

"That's still a lot of staff for such a small school," said Michael.

"We're almost here," said Charles suddenly, and they all leant towards the doors to see a large, sweeping property with a modern mansion at the back and a large blue lake on the edge. Sarah summed it up better than everyone;

"It looks like home," she said.

The trip took only 5 minutes from there, and they pulled to a stop outside the front doors. Charles opened the door and let them all out where they milled nervously around.

"Come on," he said, "we need to assign you your rooms and I daresay that you're all hungry now." Michael grinned as his stomach rumbled, and the braver few laughed. They followed Charles up the steps into the entrance hall and around to the left- the 'living' half of the large house. He pointed out the kitchens, dining rooms, the student and staff common rooms, bathrooms and every other room that they passed. Finally they came to a small sign announcing 'first years' on it. Smiling, Charles opened the door to let them in.

"The other years will be getting here in about half an hour, so we can have a quick discussion before they do. This is the first year common room, a little different from the student one as only the prefects and first years are allowed in here... and me, the caretaker, head boy and girl, Emma Dale- your year advisor... but that's beside the point! This is your sanctuary room. That door leads to the bathroom... you can check it out later, James, and then there's the boys dorms and the girls! Pretty simple. Every week, Emily Fitzpatrick and I do a check of each of the year rooms- including the dorms and the bathrooms, and the neatest year will get points. At the end of the month, the year with the most points will get to choose the dessert menu for the next month!"

"Brilliant," said Stephen dreamily.

"...and the year with the least points has to clean the stables. So! Try to keep this area as clean as you can, we only have a few house elves and they are forbidden from cleaning- they are here for cooking only. And the washing up, the laundry... oh well. I've got a map here for each of you, and a schedule, so unless you have any questions, you can all go and have a pillow fight or whatever else you do to decide who gets which bed!" he finished cheerfully, "and questions?" They all shook their heads vigorously.

"That's the answer every year," he said, "okay, off you go! You've got 20 minutes and then I want you back out here." So they all rushed to their dorms.

Harry was the last to reach the boy's dorms and when he stepped inside he was impressed. The other three were standing in the middle of the rather large room looking bemusedly at the four four-poster beds lined up against the wall, each next to a bedside table with a window on top of it and the curtains pulled back. The other side of the room had four identical wardrobes each next to a desk standing opposite its bed.

"Well, they're all the same... anyone have a preference?" asked Stephen.

"Nope," said Michael cheerfully.

"I don't," said Harry.

"Well if none of you are going to take a bed, I'll have the one next to the door," said James, walking towards it, "the beds aren't going to decide for us, you know." The others all took his idea. Harry ended up on the bed in between Michael, who was next to James and Stephen who took the bed at the far end of the room. Smiling, Harry put his trunk down beside the bed with its silver, purple and gold linen. He decided that he had no time to unpack, though, so he set to exploring the rooms. It was impressive and he was sure that he would come to like it. Then he inspected the schedule...

_**Monday**_

_5.00am; Swords- Whitley_

_7.00am; Breakfast_

_8.00am; Magical Combat- Cooke_

_10.00am; Riding- Hyde_

_12.00pm; Lunch_

_1.00pm; Non-magical Combat- Cooke_

_3.00pm; Care of Magical Creatures- O'Neil_

_4.00pm; Transfiguration- Rasmussen_

_**Tuesday**_

_5.00am; Magical Combat- Cooke_

_7.00am; Breakfast_

_8.00am; Non-magical Combat- Cooke_

_10.00am; Riding- Hyde_

_12.00pm; Lunch_

_1.00pm; Swords- Whitley _

_3.00pm; Charms- Finch_

_4.00pm; Potions- Hendrix_

_**Wednesday**_

_5.00am; Riding- Hyde _

_7.00am; Breakfast_

_8.00am; Non-Magical Combat- Cooke_

_10.00am; Swords- Whitley_

_12.00pm; Lunch_

_1.00pm; Magical Combat- Cooke_

_3.00pm; History of Magic- Dale_

_4.00pm; Herbology- Kirkland_

_**Thursday**_

_5.00am; Magical Combat- Cooke_

_7.00am; Breakfast_

_8.00am; Swords- Whitley_

_10.00am; Non-Magical Combat- Cooke_

_12.00pm; Lunch_

_1.00pm; Riding- Hyde_

_3.00pm; Ancient Runes- Lancaster_

_4.00pm; Astronomy- McCray_

_**Friday**_

_5.00am; Riding- Hyde_

_7.00am; Breakfast_

_8.00am; Magical Combat- Cooke_

_10.00am; Non-Magical Combat- Cooke_

_12.00pm; Lunch_

_1.00pm; Swords- Whitley_

_3.00pm; Arithmancy- Sharpe_

_4.00pm; Defence against the Dark Arts- McGowan_

_**Saturday**_

_8.00am; Breakfast_

_9.00am; Free Period_

_1.00pm; Lunch_

_2.00; Riding- Hyde_

_4.00; Combat- Cooke/Whitley_

That was when Harry wondered why he thought it would be smart to come to Ancient Phoenix.

"I must be mad," he groaned.

"Aren't we all?" said a quiet voice behind him, "I'm Michelle Green, if you can't remember. Charles turned up at my place near Balmain in Sydney and offered me a place here. My parents and I all decided that it would be a brilliant opportunity as there are no really good Magical schools in Australia. Then we turn up here, it's a boarding school so I will rarely see my parents... and they decide to make us get up at 5 in the morning! Its torture!" she had started out quite serious, but her voice got more and more playful as she went along, "what about you?"

"Well... my relatives had all gone on holidays and they left me at home... they don't like me very much, you see, they knew I was magical but they never told me. Anyway, I got the two acceptance letters- one from Phoenix, the other from Hogwarts- and I had never even heard of magic! No one was coming to explain, but the Phoenix letter actually showed me a way to reply- so I did. Charles turned up and told me the basics; I went and bought my stuff. Then," he grew softer and more embarrassed, "there was no way that I was going to go back to my relatives' house, so... Charles helped me buy my own house."

"What? That's incredible! You must have a lot of money," she said. Harry nodded.

"My parents left me a lot when they died."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't mean to offend you..."

"That's alright, Michelle," he said sadly.

"I recognise your name," she said thoughtfully, "but I'm not sure where from... or how... are we related?"

"No, I don't think so," said Harry, "but you probably would recognise it... Voldemort killed my parents. Tried to kill me too, but failed so magical people in Britain know my name. One of the reasons I'm glad I ended up coming to Phoenix, actually."

"Voldemort... I've heard of him, too... isn't he the one that went around killing people for not having ancestors with enough magic?"

"I think so," said Harry, "I've only known about magic for a week, but I think that's what Charles said."

"Well, there's bound to be something in the library," said Michelle, "do you want to work together in class?"

"Sure," said Harry happily, "No one's ever asked to work with me before... my cousin scared everyone away before they got a chance."

"That's so mean! Well, I'm going to need a friend in this place, and so far I like you, Harry... do you want to be friends?"

"Yes!" said Harry excitedly, "I mean... yes, Michelle, I'd love to be friends with you."

"Great!" They sat talking for another 5 minutes, getting to know each other until Charles came back in.

"Michelle, Harry! Glad you two are on time... can you both go and grab the others, please? Tell them that they're going to be late for dinner if they don't hurry." They nodded and raced off to their dorms.

"James, Stephen, Michael! Charles' back and he says that we're going to be late for dinner if you don't hurry."

"Dinner!" said Michael, "No way! I am not missing it! Let's go!" and he began to drag Harry and Stephen towards the first year common room. He tried to grab James as well, but he jumped out of the way.

"Well, Michael is ready, at least," commented Charles in amusement when he saw the mass of boys heading towards him. Michelle came out at that time and began to laugh when she saw him.

"Harry, don't forget that you're sitting with me at dinner tonight!"

"Only if I can get out of this pile up!" he called back.

"Hey! I want to sit with you as well," said Michael, "and so does Stephen!"

"Fine, you two can sit as well," said Michelle playfully, "but you have to hand Harry over, he's not a toy!"

"No, that's me, the toy," said Stephen.

"Sure, Steve, sure," came Michael's voice.

"What did you call me?"

"He called you Steve," said a voice from the door of the Girls' dorms, "'Cause Stephen takes too long to say!"

"Hey, just because it's a long name, Sarah, doesn't mean you can make fun of it!"

"I'm not, and Mick's not, either!"

"HEY! Where did Mick come from?"

"Michael's too long as well," said Harry, joining in when he realised that it was a game and not rude or hurtful, "and I suppose that Michelle is... Mich works... or Shell."

"Nah, Mich is too close to Mick... go with Shell."

"I don't get any say in this, do I?" asked Michelle.

"No one else got a say in their own name!" said Stephen.

"Fine, fine, but then we have Sar and Har!"

"Oh, that's bad," said Michael, "let them keep their real names for a while until we come up with something more suitable."

"Alright... where's James?"

"He's coming, just taking a while longer... what about Laura and Angela?"

"They're coming as well. While they're gone... they can be Laur and Angie!"

"Huh, Angie's alright, but Laura can have the same wait period as Harry and Sarah."

"I agree," said a voice from the doorway, "Laur just doesn't suit me!"

"Well I'm used to Angie, so it doesn't bother me if my opinion carries any wait... and give James a wait period as well; his name is also hard to shorten."

"I heard my name," said James who had appeared in the doorway, "are we going to dinner?" He directed that at Charles who was standing with a slight smirk on his face in the doorway.

"No, take your time," he said amusedly, "you seem to be enjoying yourselves, I'm sure you can wait until breakfast to eat again..."

"NO!" said Michael, "No, it's alright, we can go to dinner now," he sounded almost panicked. The group laughed and followed Charles through the hall to the dining room.

It was a large room, full of tables to seat the students. The new first years all took seats at the end of the table closest to the doorway. They could all see a buffet table at the front of the room as they waited for the other students to arrive (and the masters as well.)

Surprisingly, it only took 10 minutes for everyone else to fill the hall. The Headmistress stood up.

"Welcome to another year at Ancient Phoenix School of Opportunity! It's a pleasure to see you all back here, and I hope you all study hard and learn to the best of your ability this year at school. To the first years, my name is Abigail Chaney and I am the Headmistress here. A few start-of-term notices before I invite you all up to get your meal; Master Brown decided to retire at the end of last year, and is being replaced this year by Master Johnnie Lancaster. Master Isabella O'Neil has also returned after her long absence so Ms. Mullen is returning full time to her position as Deputy Headmistress. Ms. Fitzpatrick has asked that you refrain from setting your pets on one another as a result of last year. Finally, the year Quidditch matches will be playing again on Sunday at the start of next month, so I suggest that the teams begin training. Preferably the older years will stick to training in the mornings to allow the younger years to stay awake during lessons. First years, your training session has already been scheduled to happen at 5pm on Saturday afternoons; hopefully you will be back inside for dinner which occurs at 7pm each night. Thank you," she said, and sat down.

"Thank you, Mrs. Chaney. For the first years, my name is Chloe Mullen, and I am the Deputy Headmistress. Could I please ask the 1st year girls to make their way up to the buffet table to grab some dinner?" Sarah, Michelle, Laura and Angela all looked at each other before slowly standing up and making their way up to the buffet table. When they had begun collecting food, Mullen's voice rang out again.

"First year boys, you can come up now." Stephen and Michael led the charge, followed by Harry and finally James strolled along behind them. Harry couldn't believe the variety of food there. As he got the supplies to build a hamburger, he distinctly heard Mullen again;

"Second years, your turn now!" Harry shrugged and tuned back to the pile of cheese. As he picked up a glass of pumpkin juice, the third years were told to come and grab their meals. The piece of treacle tart was accompanied with a stampede of fourth years coming to collect their meals. By the time all of the first years were sitting down, the head boy- Scott Foster- was collecting his meal.

"Dig in," said Mullen when he sat down, and the noise level peaked. Harry thought the meal was delicious.

"Hey, Shell?"

"Hmmm?" she asked in between mouthfuls of baked chicken.

"What were you expecting when you turned up here?"

"Not this," she said, "nothing like this. I don't know, though, but I thought there would be more students, maybe a large stone castle a bit like Dumstrang's not all that friendly, but quite effective. I think I was imagining some kind of boot camp," she said cheerfully, "but I'm glad that it's not like that! What about you?" Harry swallowed his mouthful of chicken burger.

"I don't really know; I was more interested in the fact that magic was real and I would be leaving the Dursleys for good. Probably, though, I was thinking about something similar to an English Primary school because I have never heard of nor seen anything different."

"Wow, nice wake up call to the magical world," said Laura, "I'm glad I've known about magic my whole life, I can't imagine the shock I got otherwise! The acceptance letter here was bad enough that I thought I was going to faint when I got it. My older sister actually did faint!"

"You have a sister?" asked Angela.

"Yeah, her name's Erinne and she goes to Beabatons. She's not brilliant at magic, but she spent the last two years teasing me because she had a wand. I can get her back now," she said with a wicked smirk, violet eyes flashing.

"Well, if we're talking about siblings, my sister Jessica is starting second year here this year," said Michael.

My older brother, John, is a squib," said Stephen, "but he joins in with the magical world a lot more than most squibs. Actually, John has a part-time job at Gringotts."

"I have a little brother, Talis, he's 8 and we're not sure if he's magical or not" said Angela, "but I think he is. He has a feeling around him like all magical people, and though it's weak, if he was a squib it wouldn't be there at all."

"I'm an only child," said Michelle, "but I have a lot of magical cousins."

"I'm an only child as well," said Harry sadly, "though I'm not sure if that's Voldemort's fault or if my parents didn't want me to have a sibling. I have a cousin, Dudley, and he's enough." Michelle wrapper her arm around him.

"You'll have siblings here, Harry," she said softly."

"My twin sister is going to Hogwarts this year," Sarah said, "Lily was upset about not getting in here, but she's looking forward to going to the famous Hogwarts."

"Twin? Are you identical?" Sarah grinned.

"Yep! It drives mum and dad mad when they can't tell us apart. Lily's cheekier than I am, though, and I study harder, so that helps them tell us apart."

"My little brothers are twins," said James when they looked at him, "Tom and Paul are 5 and crazy."

"So it's just Harry and Shell that don't have siblings, then?"

"Hey! Harry and I do have siblings! Look around, we're going to be living with all of you for the next 7 years. If that won't make us all siblings, then nothing ever will. Besides, I've only known you all for an hour or two, but I can tell that we're going to get along really well and I think that I can speak for Harry as well when I say that," said Michelle fiercely. Harry smiled at her; no one had ever said something nice for him before.

"I agree," he said softly and the first year pact was made. They were siblings, and would watch each other's backs for as long as they were around.

When they were finished dinner, Chaney stood up.

"Now that you've all eaten, I would ask you to come up table-at-a-time and stack your plates at the end of the buffet table. First years, there is a bin beside it for your scraps and buckets for the cutlery. When you've done that, you can go. Classes start tomorrow, so it would be a good idea to get some sleep tonight as it is an early start! This table, you're first." To Harry's surprise, it was the table with the first years and a mix of second and thirds that was being indicated, so they stood up and followed third year Richard Harris back up to the table and put the cutlery where they were shown before racing back to the dorms.

"Don't know about you," said Michael, "but I'm knackered. See you all in the morning, Harry, Steve- You two are my alarm clocks!"

"Yeah, Harry and Steve- I'm employing the pair of you to wake me as well," said James, walking towards the dorms. Harry and Stephen looked at each other.

"Harry, mate, don't know about you, but I can't get up early to save my life," said Stephen. Harry grinned.

"I can, but the rest of you had better not blame me if I sleep in," he said, silently pledging to set his wand to go off at 4.30am to give him half an hour to get changed and wake the rest of the boys in his dorm. The girls all looked at him as Stephen took himself off to the dorms.

"I can't wake that early," said Angela.

"Me neither," Laura and Sarah chimed in. Michelle rolled her eyes.

"I've never tried, but I can see that Harry has an idea," said Michelle, "care to share, Harry?" Harry grinned.

"I was living by myself this week- I discovered a useful little spell that makes your wand vibrate and beep at the time you set it to go off at. Only you can hear it, though."

"Right... now... please tell us what the spell is otherwise you will be responsible for waking every person in first year for a while now!" Harry smiled.

"Calm down, Angie, gees! Tempus Alarmis. Say it when you're holding your wand and a glowing clock will come out of your wand, similar to the tempus spell. Then you can set the time and the wand will o off at the time you've set," he said, "We'll tell the other boys in the morning, I have a plan to wake them up in the morning first."

"What are you planning on doing?"

"There's this spell that I've been meaning to try out," said Harry slowly, "and I thought they would make nice test subjects... it shoots a fountain of pure- _cold-_ water out of the tip of your wand." Michelle grinned as well.

"You've got a handle on things in that dorm, so I'm not worried," she said, "so I'll see you in the morning. Swords first, right?"

"Yep," said Sarah, "and Charles said that he is the one that is most likely to insist on us calling him Master Whitley. 'Night, everyone."

"'Night Sarah, Angie, Laura, Shell," said Harry, "I'm going to bed now as well. Tempus Alarmis!" He set the alarm before heading off to his new bed.

BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP! Harry groaned. He felt as if he had only just got to sleep, and now it was time to wake up again. Unfortunately, the spell made sure that he couldn't go back to sleep after it went off as it wouldn't stop until he was fully awake. He groaned again before getting up and pulling the wand out of his pillow. He ran into the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water- finally, the noise stopped. Harry went back into the dorms. Holding his wand as steady as he could, Harry pointed it at James' face.

"Aguamenti!" he said, but nothing happened. Frustrated, Harry tried again.

"Aguamenti. Aguamenti. Aguamenti. Aguamenti!" Finally, a spurt of cold water came flying out of his wand, drenching the boy in front of him. Spluttering, James woke.

"What on earth were you doing?" he exploded.

"Shh! James, it's time to get up to be on time for classes. If you be quiet, I can get the other boys," he said.

"Why couldn't you have got me last," James grumbled.

"Would you really have wanted that?" Harry asked, "Then the others would have seen you get woken. Now be quiet and start getting ready while I wake Steve and Mich."

"Fine, fine," James grumbled, dragging himself out of bed and to his wardrobe, "I suppose we need to wear the duelling robes? And take our swords?"

"I suppose so," said Harry distractedly, "Aguamenti! Aguamenti!" and both Michael and Stephen were hit with jets of water. Harry quickly stowed his wand back in the holster attached to his wrist and moved over to his wardrobe. It would take them a while to work out who had hit them with the water. Ten minutes before they were due at swords, Harry was in the first year common room with the girls, dressed and ready to go. According to the maps it would take them 5 minutes to get to the swords room, and they were beginning to worry- the other boys were showing no signs of being ready in time to get to class. Midnight was enjoying himself, though. Michelle had brought a King Charles spaniel named Monty and the two dogs were feeling extremely playful.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three;**_

Just over a month had passed since Dumbledore had received the note from Charles, informing him that Harry Potter would not be attending Hogwarts. He hadn't truly believed it until tonight, when the 11 year old didn't step forward to be sorted into Gryffindor. His plans had been ruined. He had no use for Nicholas' stone, and Quirrel had no use either. Now his priority would not be to test Harry, but to get him back. For now, though, he would have to address the students.

"Yes, I can see that you have all noticed that a certain boy is not here," he said in a voice that indicated (he hoped) that he was in no way responsible, "Harry Potter has declined his invitation to attend Hogwarts." Dumbledore sat back down as an explosion went off.

"Declined the Hogwarts invitation!"

"Who does he think he is?"

"Hogwarts is the best school of magic there is! Where else would he go?"

"Do you think they lied when they said he was alive?"

"Where is he?"

"I heard that he went to live with muggles... maybe he doesn't want to learn magic!"

"Maybe he's been getting private tutoring... too advanced to be in first year!"

"STOP!" Shouted a small voice, "Stop! I know where Harry Potter is, and none of you are getting anywhere near the truth." A tall first year with long red hair and light green eyes stood up.

"My sister Sarah sent me a letter and it arrived while I was on the train. She knows Harry Potter."

"Ms. King," said McGonagall, "if this is relevant, you will be allowed to read the letter out loud."

"Oh, it is, Professor," she said earnestly, pulling the letter out of her pocket.

"'Dear Lily,

I can't believe that it has already been a month since I began at Salem. So much has happened! I will tell you about my friends, first, though. There's James. He's a bit pompous and rude sometimes- he really enjoys getting on peoples nerves! He's stubborn as well, but he can be nice when he feels like it. He's the best at transfiguration in the year and he helps us a lot (when he's not arguing with us!) remember how you told me about the Hogwarts houses? I explained them to everyone else, and James said that he would be a Slytherin. The rest of us know that he would be more likely to end up in Gryffindor- he has no subtlety at all! He's set on it, though.

Stephen is funny and quite cheeky but not in a James way. Sometimes I think that he's just here for comic relief! We all agreed that if he went to Hogwarts, he would be in Hufflepuff as he is incredibly loyal to his friends, but if someone insults us he can be scary. Never want to get on his bad side! The masters all think that he will have an aptitude for healing magic as he has slight empathy (the magical gift!) but we won't begin to learn that until 3rd year.

Michael's here as well. If Steve's here for comic relief, then Mich's here for stress relief. He's the most laid back of all of us- though that's not to say he's bad at school! He's quite good in every subject but he never takes top spot. Mich is closer to Harry than any of the boys because he understands him better than anyone else. Though he does have a wicked streak! Jessica is Michael's older sister- she's in second year and Mich managed to convince her to play a prank on all of the masters the other night at dinner. It was never traced back to us, thank goodness! It was brilliant, though, and we never thought him capable of it which made it even better!

Michelle is brilliant. Quite fiery and fierce but kind and understanding at the same time. She's definitely the best in Care of Magical Creatures- I think she just frightens the animals into behaving! Gryffindor girl through and through. She's closer to Harry than anyone and the two of them talk to each other more than anyone else, but we know that they're friends with us as well- Harry just has trouble opening up to too many people at once and Michelle was the first person to try and get to know him properly without being mean or cruel about it.

Laura's the rebel of the group. I have never seen a person have shockingly violet eyes- at least, not until I met Laura. She's probably one of the fitter of my friends and when we all go for a run together; only Harry and Shell (Michelle) can keep in front of her! She runs like a Nimbus 2000. Laura comes first in Charms, hands down. I swear she gets them all right first try!

Angela is probably the most Ravenclaw of the group, though everyone is intelligent enough to be in that house. She's brilliant in potions class and astronomy as well, and is the one to remind us if we forget to do our homework. (Okay, fine- she reminded me when I forgot about the essay we were supposed to hand to Master Whitley, but I feel better if I say she reminds everyone.) Angie is definitely the most logical out of the group.

Finally, there's Harry. He seemed brilliant until we found out his name, then he almost seemed to hide away from us for a while until he realised that we weren't treating him any different. I got the story from Charles; the others agree that I should be in Slytherin! Charles said that Harry is quite famous in Britain for living when his parents died. (That was Harry's description of his fame- I cornered him afterwards) Harry really hated the idea of being famous for that, and I don't say I blame him. Who wants their fame to be a reminder of the fact that they are orphaned? When Charles explained about magic, Salem and Hogwarts, (No, he didn't know. His relatives tried to squash the magic out of him, told him that there was no such thing and informed him that his parents were worthless drunks that were killed in a car crash and informed him quite seriously that it would have been 'better for everyone if he had had the decency to die with them.') Harry was terrified at the idea of fame and being recognised. He also apparently saw that many people would try to manipulate him and he would never be left alone. He accepted the offer to attend Salem; apparently deciding that he needed to know more about magic before he braved Britain. He doesn't ever want to return to his relatives, and I can certainly see why. Now that he is eating proper meals, though, he seems to be gaining a proper height and size. He's almost as tall as Steve now! He's good at practically every subject, but he's coming first in Defence against the Dark Arts and Ancient Runes. He's the best dueller in the year as well. Harry started school acting almost like the perfect Slytherin! His behaviour is becoming more and more Gryffindor-ish as he gets used to being treated well. We all agree that that is the house he would be in now. Speaking of houses, it's the first year versus third year Quidditch match on Sunday, and we're all so excited! Harry's playing Seeker against Thomas Robinson and we think that Harry might actually beat him. He's a natural at that game, I tell you! I'll be playing Chaser, Lily, and we've been training really hard.

So, that's my friends! I have to tell you, Lily, classes are intense here. Take DADA. Master McGowan told us the incantation for a shield charm, before he began to throw as many humiliating curses and charms as he could at us until we managed it! Make no mistake, Lil, we all have perfect shields now. Harry was the only one that left the classroom not severely embarrassed, and he was still in a fluro pink uniform with matching hair!

I know this letter will arrive when you are still on your way to Hogwarts, and I want to say good luck. Make heaps of friends, and have fun- but don't forget to pay attention in class! I know you will. I hope you end up in Gryffindor like you wanted, though the 8 of us here don't see what's so important about the houses. Surely you can be friends with whoever you want and talk and eat with whoever you want no matter what house you're in! You're still all living in the same castle, learning the same subjects under the same Professors. Just something to think about. Michael asked me to ask you to say 'hi' to a girl in your year- Tracey Davis. I think they are cousins? Well, while we are saying hello to people we know, pass on my greetings to Hannah.

Please reply soon and I can't wait to see you again!

Your Sister,

Sarah King

(Sorry- we have to reply with our surnames here otherwise the letters apparently go missing. According to the Campbell's and the Lewis'- they're two sets of twins in 3rd year, and they are always being silly and making jokes.)' That's the letter," she finished. Tracey Davis gaped at her.

"Sarah was accepted into Salem Institute of Magic?" she asked weakly. Lily nodded proudly.

"What's so good about that?" a muggleborn said, confused.

"What's so good about that?" snapped a pureblood, "only the fact that anyone saying that Hogwarts is the greatest school of magic is lying. It the best school that most people can enter. Salem is incredible. They're students come out with more knowledge of magic than most people manage in their lives. By the end of first year, they probably know more that our fourth years! It's incredibly difficult to get into, though, and no one really knows what they look for; even less where it is. We have never found a school in Salem. For an idea of how tough it is to get in, though, just look at Lily. Pureblood, with a twin accepted- she wasn't. You would be mad to decline an invitation to attend Salem Institute of Magic."

"Actually, though I don't know all of the requirements to attend, I know a few," said Lily, "Charles told us some when he came to collect Sarah. Salem doesn't care about blood status. What they care about is the amount of magical power you have, your study and work ethics and your ability to learn quickly. I failed in the study and work ethics, according to Charles, as well as a few of the other requirements that he wouldn't tell us." Another first year Gryffindor with bushy hair looked affronted.

"Fail in even one requirement, and you won't attend Salem Institute. What Sarah didn't say in her letter was that she described every first year in attendance- they take four boys and four girls each year only." The hall gasped, and even the staff looked shocked.

"You heard the methods employed by the DADA Master. Well, my sister is known for understatement. Knowing her, that would have been one of the less brutal lessons, which is why she used it as an example- she is terrified of frightening me. Harry Potter is going to be incredible when he comes back to Britain- to top a class at Salem is like a first year outperforming a 5th year on their OWLs. Absolutely incredible." Tracey nodded.

"I agree with Lily, Salem is an incredible school and its graduates even more so. If the 5th years there wanted to overthrow the government- bear in mind there is only 8 of them- they could probably do it with sheer magical power. Not that our politicians are particularly magically skilled."

"I wish I could go to Salem," someone called out, "it sounds brilliant!" Lily smirked.

"Put your hand up if you want to attend Salem Institute of Magic," she said and the majority of the hall put their hands up. "Now put your hand down if you change your mind while I am speaking. They have classes 6 days a week-" half the hall dropped their hands- "Classes begin at 5am in the morning-" now only a few Ravenclaws and Hermione kept their hands up, "and the classes end at 5pm in the evening." Even more hands dropped, leaving only five in the air, "From 5am to 5pm they have only two hours of respite, meaning they spend 10 hours every day in the classroom, and none of those hours are study or free periods." And the hands finally fell down.

"Oh, look at that," smirked Lily, "you all changed your minds fairly quickly... keep in mind that this information comes from Sarah King, Master of understatement-" and the students in the hall shivered. "That and the brutal lessons they have is the price the students at Salem pay for the knowledge and skill they have."

"I like the point about the houses," said a Ravenclaw, "they are right. We are all Hogwarts students; we live and learn in the same castle. We have the same teachers and we learn the same things at the same rate. We all have so much in common! The only thing that divides us is a single word said by an old hat when we were 11. We shouldn't have to limit our friendships based on that word." The students around the hall began to slowly nod in agreement with the words being spoken, and the Professors were in shock.

"Harry Potter is managing to unite the Houses... something that hasn't been done for hundreds of years... at the age of 11 without even stepping foot in the castle," McGonagall murmured.

_Dear Sarah, _

_I loved getting your letter. Thank you! I'm sorry, as well. The Great Hall went absolutely crazy when they realised that the Boy-Who-Lived hadn't turned up, and the only way to get them to shut up was to read the letter out loud. You'll never guess what happened, though! They heard your thoughts on the Houses being friends, and most of them realised that you were right. People are being friendly to others in different houses! I even saw a Gryffindor and a Slytherin talking together! I think your comment about Harry starting as a sure-fire Slytherin and then changing to almost perfect Gryffindor behaviour helped a lot. It seems that no one really thought it possible for others to change. _

_I am still glad that I managed to get into Gryffindor, though. The people aren't as nice here, unless you were exaggerating in your letter. I will tell you about the Gryffindors, anyway, as though the houses are closer together, the first years are sticking close to their house mates as we all get used to the school. It has been less than a week, though._

_There's Hermione Granger. She's a bookworm, that's for sure! She's obsessed with being the best in every subject and is working herself far too hard but she is still missing the basics! She acts as though she knows everything when really she is one of the most ignorant people I have come across. I think her problem, though, is she is trying to fit everything in with the muggle world. Muggle celebrations, traditions, clothing, inventions, customs, behaviours... she's trying to make the magical world more muggle instead of understanding the magical world and changing herself to fit into it. She is probably an example of why some purebloods want to keep muggleborns away from our world- they would destroy it. I think she will learn with time, though. Hermione seems particularly offended at the idea of Salem- or more precisely- that she was not invited to attend. _

_Lavendar Brown is a giggly gossip, with not much of a brain. Sarah, really- I had to remind her to do her homework! Me! Though that might have been because she was trying to avoid doing it just to annoy Hermione who has been nagging her about it ever since we got it. She hangs around with Parvarti Patil. Parvarti is almost the same as Lavender, though prettier and a little smarter. Parvarti has a twin sister- Padma- who is in Ravenclaw, so she does have a semblance of study routines and habits. That's pretty much the girls. _

_Ron Weasley is like James, but more stuck-up and not nice... ever. He seems under the impression that Harry is his best friend and that everyone should respect him. He is always saying stupid things, like;_

"_When Harry Potter comes back to Hogwarts, he's gonna hex you if you don't listen to me." Honestly, I think that you should suggest to Harry that he send a letter to all of the Gryffindor boys telling them that Ron is lying, because they all seem to believe him. That boy can't even hold his wand the right way!_

_Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas I know almost nothing about, but they hang in the shadows around Ron and seem to listen to him._

_Neville Longbottom is probably the only decent Gryffindor. He is quite shy and not very confident in his magical abilities, but he is brilliant at Herbology! Some of the meaner Slytherins are always telling him that he shouldn't have come to Hogwarts, and that he is almost a squib. How mean is that? I think it works, though, he believes them and it takes me a lot to try and get his confidence back up to its still low standing after every encounter with Draco Malfoy- and that is several times a day. Classes are good, though, at least- as good as classes can be. Professor McGonagall is the head of Gryffindor, Deputy Headmistress and most importantly- the transfiguration Professor. She is really nice, but quite strict. The best lesson was her first. She is a cat animagus, Sarah! She was sitting on her desk in cat-form and just watching us a few minutes after the bell went. Ron, Seamus and Dean came running in 5 minutes late and crowing about how they had made it before the Professor and that they were soooo good. Well, they finally finished bragging... and Professor McGonagall transformed! The lecture she gave them has been filed away in my mind for safe-keeping... it was brilliant! How did the match go?_

_Write soon,_

_Lily._

_P.S. Tell Harry to watch out for Dumbledore- he seems to be determined to have Harry attend Hogwarts before the end of the year. _

They sat back.

"Well," said Sarah finally, "that could have been slightly more cheerful."

"Why does Dumbledore want me at Hogwarts, though? It's not his business!"

"Harry, you might be brilliant, but sometimes you can be really naive! You're famous, especially in Britain. Dumbledore is famous as well. For you to decline Hogwarts looks bad on Dumbledore even if it was to attend the so-called 'Salem Institute of Magic.' He either wants you back to improve your image or because he is another one of the manipulators. Remember that the prophecy was delivered to him; he knows it and he would want you under his control. Think of what he can do with the information that he already has!" said Angela hotly.

"Okay, I see your point, Angie," he said, "should we write to the Gryffindor boys?"

"Nah, it will give him an even larger reputation if he got a letter from you no matter the consequences. And, if he's clever he can always charm the letters to the other Gryffindors to make it look as though you are threatening them," said James, "By the way, Sarah, what did you say about me in the last letter that looks so bad from Lil's end?" Sarah blushed.

"I said a... few things about your slightly annoying personality... and stubbornness."

"Oh, that's alright then!"

"What?"

"Well it is, she's more stubborn and annoying than me... and can't even play Quidditch properly!"

"Neither can you, James," said Laura, "neither can you. Has it already escaped your notice that the third years were flattening us this morning until Harry caught the snitch? That Shell was the only beater on our team managing to hit the bludgers at the third years? That Sarah scored the majority of our goals?" James blushed.

"Sorry, Sar," he said, "I guess I'm just a little embarrassed by how much better the third years were. I always thought that I was good at Quidditch, but they were so much better."

"Hey, James, don't worry. Annalise and Stephanie are amazing beaters... and they are twins as well... they can practically read each other's minds! You've only worked with Shell for a month, you'll get better. Harry is just a natural at Quidditch."

"Yeah, James, the Campbell's are incredible!" James smiled and the eight first years began to think over their first month at Ancient Phoenix School of Opportunity.

The classes were brutal, though the first week hadn't been too bad. The Masters had each been taught a spell to place the knowledge in their textbooks right into their brains, though they had to read them afterwards to keep it there, otherwise the knowledge would be lost. Once that had been done, though, classes were fair game. They knew the theory, so it was practicals all lesson, and they went to bed magically exhausted every night. Thankfully, magic is like a muscle so they were slowly improving. The combat and swords classes had been just as brutal. First swords lesson, Master Whitley had them take out their swords and block him for a full minute. Only Harry and Michelle had escaped injuries in that first part of the lesson, but it didn't stay that way. By the end of the month, they could all block quite well and were beginning to focus on attack. The same happened in both combat classes, though they were not nearly as advanced. Riding was the class that they all agreed they liked. In the first lesson, they had been taken down to the stables and introduced to the horses. All of them were black Arabians, but with vastly different personalities. They had been told to find the horse that was calling for them, and he or she would be theirs to learn to ride on, and own when they graduated. Harry had quickly found his. The nameplate on the door of the stall read 'Galeno' and Harry loved him. The others quickly found their horse as well. Angela found her horse next- Puebla. Michelle matched Kaseem, Sarah met Arif, and Laura matched Zandra. Stephen matched up with a horse named Melek and Michael met Rafa. James had a lot of trouble, but he finally felt drawn to a small Arabian named Rudi. Needless to say, he didn't get on with Rudi as well as the others got on with their horses. The first week was spent learning to care for them and then the riding lessons began. The fact that they were matched with their horse helped a lot, but their riding skills still needed a lot of work. Thankfully they all enjoyed the lessons.

"I still can't believe Rudi threw you off, James," said Michelle when they came back to the present.

"Hey, would you stop talking about that, please!"

"No, it's funny!" said Laura, "and the rest of us matched well enough that we don't get thrown off. Zandra would never do that to me, anyway." James sniffed.

"Well Rudi was just in a bad mood, he wouldn't have done that otherwise."

"Sure, James, sure," said Angela, "that explanation works... as long as he's always in a bad mood. But then, Rudi had to get his name somehow!"

"Well Puebla must be in a bad mood quite regularly as well then, as she looked quite annoyed at you yesterday."

"James, you'd better stop it or I will give either Shell or Harry a sword and tell them to go."

"Why not just give Harry one?" asked Laura.

"Because Harry would probably refuse to fight, so I get the next best dueller, Shell to step in," she explained.

"Hey! I am right here, you know," said Harry.

"OH! Harry, mate, didn't see you there. You need to speak up a little more, you know?" said Angela playfully.

"Thanks, Angie, glad to know you care," said Harry, rolling his eyes, "and who said I would refuse? I'd love to have a round with my sword, but James might not be able to keep me going for long enough."

"OI! I can so handle my sword!"

"Not nearly as well as Harry or Shell though," said Laura, "and that's nothing on you, James, but those two are incredible!"

"Why thank you, Laura, never knew you actually thought highly of me," said Michelle, "but don't group me with Harry- he's in a class of his own with that sword... or staff... or knives... or katana... or hands in combat... or wand when he's duelling... let's just say that our Harry's in a class of his own when it comes to fighting," said Michelle, "but Harry, you won't be there for long! I am so going to beat you one day and that's a promise."

"Huh, if you're going to try harder, maybe it's time that I put some effort into the combat and swords classes," Harry teased. From the horrified looks of the others, they thought he was being serious.

_Dear Lily,_

_I don't mind that you read the letter out in front of the school, and the others here thought it was pretty funny, too. Only Harry sees a problem with it, but he's just shy, and he only complains half-heartedly. The price was cheap for him, considering the hall was told the truth about his schooling! I'm sorry that you are having trouble with friends at Hogwarts. I take it you don't hang around with Hannah? Is that because you don't want to, she avoids you or mutual consent? I'm glad you ended up in the house you wanted, anyway. _

_Hermione Granger sounds terrible! Have you tried to explain to her what she is doing? She might truly be unaware of how much she is alienating herself from the rest of you, and Harry said that he would probably try to fit the magical world in with the muggle one if Charles hadn't given him things to read and information. I can't imagine him doing that, though, so I think he is just trying to understand her. The others don't sound all that nice, either._

_Harry's not going to send a letter to Ron, the potential for abuse of the letter is too high- it could make him feel even more important because 'Harry Potter' wrote a letter to him, and there are spells he could use to change the writing on it. Sorry about that, but you will just have to put up with him. I'm glad that you get along with Neville, though. Do you really think that it's just a self-esteem issue? We talked to Charles and the records show that he is living with his grandmother. Is it possible that she wants him to grow up like her son/daughter- Neville's parent so much that she passed on his/her wand to Neville? You know that the wand works its best when it is suited to the witch or wizard wielding it. Just something to think about. That Draco Malfoy sounds like a ponce! James takes offence to you describing them as similar to each other and I think I agree- James is really starting to calm down a little, and I think it might have just been the nerves that were making him unbearable. He's quite nice now, though still stubborn and enjoys teasing us. What's been happening at Hogwarts? We're all enjoying ourselves. Harry and Michelle are going to be incredible duellers when they get a little more experience and Harry seems to be really serious about it. He gets up an hour early every morning and goes for a run! The rest of us are serious as well, but he's insane! Especially when he goes for another run and a swim after dinner while the rest of us are fighting over the showers. He enjoys it, though, and that's what matters. _

_Remember how Charles told us that I would be matched to a horse? Well, I was, Lil! Arif is the bravest, nicest, most beautiful horse I have ever met and I hope that one day you will be able to meet him... OW! The others want me to mention their horses as well, and they seem to take offence at the description of Arif. Well, Harry matched with a beautiful horse. His name is Galeno and he really does match Harry's personality. Calm, gentle and slightly shy most of the time, but incredibly fierce when riled up and highly competitive. Fast as well. Melek. Well, she's matched to Stephen and definitely the most gentle of them all. Cheeky, though, and definitely well matched to Stephen. Rudi is the most stubborn mule I have ever met! He took forever to call to James, and they are the pair that work the worst together. Rudi actually threw James off a week ago! Rafa is a beautiful mare, though nowhere near as beautiful as my Arif. Once again, the pair is well matched. I swear that horse is more laid back than even Michael, and that is saying something! _

_Michelle paired with another warrior-horse- Kaseem is a crazy one, and he could easily be Shell as an animagus. If I didn't see them together, I would swear that Shell was a black Arabian animagus- it really is incredible! Laura matched with Zandra- she's the rebel horse and Angela matched with beautiful Puebla. The personality match is once again incredible. You really have to see it to believe it, Lil! _

_The Quidditch matches are going brilliantly. Our team really could do with some more skill, but Harry is yet to miss the snitch and the score is always in our favour at the end. No thanks to the rest of us, usually. Last Sunday's game was ended by Harry amazingly... the score was 150-0! I've never heard of anything like that happening before! Have you? _

_Well, that's pretty much all for now. Hope to get the Hogwarts Update soon!_

_Sarah King. _

_Dear Sarah,_

_Nope, I've never heard of a Quidditch game ending like that before! I asked around, and no one else here has either. You broke a record! I hope that I can meet Arif soon as well. I understand your point about Ron, and I'm a little embarrassed that I never thought of that possibility. Now for the 'Hogwarts Update,' as you put it. _

_You know, you really need to stop being right all the time! Neville's gran had given him his father's wand, telling him that hopefully one day he would grow up to be just like him, though she was always hinting that he would never do that- he could never do anything right. No wonder he has poor self-esteem issues! I talked to Neville and he said that he never got his own wand, but that he was fine using his fathers. I didn't like that, so I dropped a note to Professor McGonagall. A week later, a letter was sent home to Augusta Longbottom stating that they had discovered that Neville didn't own his own wand and that Hogwarts required every student to purchase their own wand- family heirlooms were not accepted. Well, she turned up that weekend and took him to Ollivanders (the wandmaker in Diagon Alley.) His spell work has improved so much, it's incredible! His best subject is still Herbology, but he is definitely not coming anywhere near last in any of the classes involving a wand. The Potions Professor, Snape, still makes him so nervous that he makes silly mistakes but that is only one class. That's the first miracle that has happened since my first letter. _

_On Halloween, a troll entered the castle... yep, a fully-grown mountain troll. I was in the bathroom with Hermione at the time when the troll came in. It was so frightening! It was going for Hermione, too, and I don't know why I did it, but it worked. I levitated its club out of its hand and dropped it on its head. The troll was apparently knocked out for hours. Well, you know what they say- The bigger you are, the harder you fall. That was certainly true for Mr. Toll there. Hermione's become a lot nicer since then. I wouldn't call us friends, but she does come with Neville and I to see Hagrid, and I think she sees us as friends. We shall have to see. _

_Speaking of Hagrid, he's the half-giant gamekeeper here... and an __**idiot!**__ He. Has. A. Baby. Dragon. A Norwegian Ridgeback. What do we do? We have to convince him to get rid of the dragon somehow, but he won't let it free. We need to give it to someone who would take care of it... anyone you know willing to take it? Please say yes. _

_I'm glad Quidditch is going well for you, the opposite is true here. The Gryffindor seeker is pathetic! We lost the game because he failed to catch it. Our other players are incredible, but the snitch is just worth too much and Slytherin (who we were playing) aren't exactly push-over's. Classes are going fine over here, and Christmas was great. I wish you could have come home, but you had classes. Still, you get a month off for the summer... right? That's such a long way away, Sarah! It's only been 4 months since I saw you last, it feels like so much longer. Well, that's all for now. Please write back as soon as you can (not that you ever forget to)_

_Lily. _

_Lily,_

_That's great news that Hermione is calming down! Hopefully one day she will be your friend, but you still need to be careful. Dumbledore is going to try and get close to you (or get someone else close to you) as you have the most information on Harry. Be careful. Now, the Dragon. Isabella in all of her infinite wisdom, has decided that she will take the dragon, and we will study it in her CoMC classes. THIS IS MAD! Anyway, she asked me to tell you that it needs to be at the top of the tallest tower in exactly a week, 11pm. Bad luck about the Quidditch match, hopefully one day you will get a good seeker. Hey, Harry was sent an anonymous invisibility cloak for Christmas! There was a note, though; 'I had this in my possession the night your father died. It is time it is returned to you. Use it well.' I think it was sent by Dumbledore, as it was layered in tracking charms. The writing was large and loopy- any chance you can find out a little more? Thanks! Now... YOU FOUGHT A TROLL? You're almost as mad as Master O'Neil! (That's Isabella; we usually use her first name) Oh well. Classes are going smoothly over here. We are apparently at the level of a third year Hogwarts student, but they're not expecting us to keep progressing so quickly, as the Hogwarts students start to work harder around third year- so the estimate of a fourth year graduate at the end of first year is probably about right. Harry is now duelling two of us at once, he's crazy. He looks incredible with his weapons, though- all of them. Like they are just an extension of him. Sure, that is what all of us feel with our weapons, but they still look a little clumsy- not with Harry, though. He's incredible at Runes, as well, and Lancaster is delighted to have him in the class. They have private lessons on Sunday afternoons, now, and Harry is learning warding from him. I'm really enjoying the Arithmancy classes- you should definitely choose that course when you get to third year! Ava is giving me private lessons as well, though they don't go for very long. Actually, everyone in first year seems to be getting private lessons! It's weird. Stephen is spending the time with Mandy Popinwright; the school healer, and he is doing really well with healing magic. They were right when they said that he would have an affinity towards it. James works with Kirk Rasmussen- the transfiguration master. Michael isn't really exceptional at any subject, but he is good at everything so he spends time with Charles learning things from him. Michelle works with Isabella, Laura works with the Charms master, Sophia. She's getting really good! Angela splits her time between the Potions master, Daryl, and the Astronomy Master, Olivia. Is your Potions Professor really that bad? Daryl knows the master that Snape learnt from (to get his Mastery- Snape did not come to Salem!) and he says that Snape is extremely good at Potions but they never saw his as one to pursue a teaching career. Not enough people skills. If he is, next time he bullies Neville, say this; 'Snape, your master, Charlene Jacobs was right when she said you would never work with people- you really need to have a discussion with her.' That was a message from Charlene, don't ask me what it means- there is obviously a hidden message in it. I'm glad Neville got his own wand, I am sure that it would have made an incredible difference! I'm sorry that I couldn't come home for Christmas; we do get the one month break you were asking about, though! (Thank goodness for that!) Even Harry is looking forward to the break, but he doesn't have to go back to his relatives so that would help- he has his own property! He invited us to visit for a week in the holidays (and the rest of the first years here.) It's such a long time until then, though, that I'm not sure I should answer right away. I loved the 'Hogwarts Update," hopefully I will get another one soon..._

_Love from_

_Sarah King. _

_Dear Sarah, _

_Don't worry, I understand that you weren't able to come home for Christmas- I was just a little put out as it would have been nice to see my sister again. Well, the dragon's gone, though we got caught coming back from the tower. Malfoy somehow found out that we were moving him that night… don't ask me how… and informed the professors that we would be wandering around the castle. Git. Neville and I were caught coming down by Filch, the evil squib caretaker. You'll never guess, though. Lavender apparently found out that we would be wandering the castle and decided to come and find us! She got caught as well. McGonagall was furious! She took fifty points off the house and gave us a detention, but then Lavender complained! Well, she then added an 'each' at the end of the point-loss, so Gryffindor was 150 points down overnight. We weren't very well-liked after that. The house rivalries have diffused from duelling in the corridors to mutual dislike at the beginning of the year, so Gryffindor house was absolutely furious when they found out who had put them out of the running for the house cup. They refuse to speak to us, now. Well, Hermione still does, but she seems to be distancing herself slightly… its house-suicide to 'associate' with us at the moment. We still had our detentions, too… They sent us into the forbidden forest with the gamekeeper, Hagrid. We had to find unicorns that had been severely injured by a creature in the forest. How dangerous is that! It had already hurt __**unicorns;**__ did the teachers think it would have problems with first years? Even worse, Hagrid split us up. Poor Neville had to go with Malfoy and __**Fang,**__ Hagrid's __**dog,**__ while Lavender and I went with him. Instructions were to send up red sparks if anything happened. Really. Malfoy decided it would be amusing to play a trick on Neville, frightening him into sending up the sparks. That boy is a coward, reduced to tricking people when they are in the middle of a dark, forbidden forest at midnight. He would never dare do something like that to Neville's face. The groups changed, then. Malfoy and I found the unicorn… it was dead. The creature wasn't gone, though, and I've never run so fast in my life. Apart from that, nothing much has happened here. Well… apart from the fact that we found a Cerberus in a third floor corridor… we all agree to never go near it again. It was scary. The yearly exams are coming up soon, and Hermione can always be found working as hard as the OWLs students. She's still missing the basics, though. I'd love to spend a week at Harry's and I think we should invite him to ours as well. I think that you're right about the cloak, by the way, and no one has the guts to pass one message to Snape verbally… we'll write it down in handwriting he doesn't notice and leave it on his desk… unless we can convince the Weasley twins that it's a good prank, then they would do it for us… anyway, I'm rambling… in a letter!_

_I might cut the 'Hogwarts Update' here, and I look forward to hearing from you! _

_Lily_

_Lily,_

_THAT DRAGON IS IMPOSSIBLE! It's growing so quickly, and only Isabella and Michelle are the only ones crazy enough to approach her, and the latter is only when Harry is calming her! (For some odd reason, he can communicate with her. Still, the dragon has serious mood swings, and Harry's going to wait until she's older!) Harry say's that we're both welcome, the last week before I go back to school is what we're arranging as he lives quite close to the place we have to meet at the beginning of the school year. Your detention sounds horrible! The points, too, and I'm sorry that you're being treated that way. As for Hermione… so much for Gryffindor courage, she's sounding almost Slytherin-like! Probably a very good thing that the house-tension has diffused even a little, imagine what it would have been like otherwise! Well, considering your extremely long account of Hogwarts life, I feel as though I should reply in kind. It's hard, though. School life is falling into a nice pattern now. Our abilities are starting to level out, except for the subjects that we top at- where the leader is pulling away from the group as the work gets harder. Harry's duels, for example, are really frightening now. I never want to be up against him, and I really do not care what weapon he is wielding… and that includes his wand! Not that it matters much anymore, as he's learning to combine them. Frightening. The masters all assure us that his sort of progress is nowhere near normal. Almost unheard of, in fact, but then our whole year is apparently unusual in that respect. Even our Quidditch matches as seeing a dramatic improvement! We are beginning to rely less and less on Harry to pull us out a victory as the rest of us gain a level of competence on our brooms. Our last game (though admittedly against the second-years) we actually won 360-210! Oh, Lily, you should have seen the first year common rooms that night! Suffice to say, the Masters weren't overly happy with our sleep-deprived state the next day. It was worth it, though, as it was the first time we had managed to be on par with the other time before Harry ended the game! He still hasn't missed the Snitch, though, and Harry is gaining an impressive reputation for it now. He even missed out on his morning run because he went to bed so late, partying with the rest of us. No idea how James got the food but I don't think I really want to ask him either… Now that I have added enough length to the letter to prevent people from randomly gaining the contents over your shoulder… what on earth is a Cerberus doing in your school? That would be in capitals if I weren't afraid of gaining someone's attention. I wouldn't go near it, either. Try to pass the message to Snape on if you can, but if it's too hard, don't worry. _

_Hopefully this is my last letter until the holidays,_

_Sarah King._

_Dear Sarah, _

_Something strange happened the other night. Someone broke in to the corridor that the Cerberus was guarding. As far as I can tell, they tried to steal a valuable artefact that Dumbledore was hiding there. From what I can gather, they made it all the way to the final protection before Dumbledore was able to stop them. Hagrid is looking inconsolable at the moment. He apparently accidentally let slip valuable information in exchange for the dragon egg. The Cerberus was his, you see, and the first protection of many. He told them how to get past. He is under the impression that Dumbledore should have fired him, so I can tell that it was pretty important… but then we worked that out already and I am sure that you did as well. The Defence Professor died the same night as well. Everyone's kind of in shock about that, although I suspect that the two events might somehow be related… there was something- off- about his stutter, as though it was fabricated somehow. Anyway, there are only a few more days until the end of the year and unfortunately, Gryffindor is in last place for the house cup. No surprises there, but it's not making the others like us any more than they already do. I can't wait to see you again, though, and to meet Harry, Michelle, James, Michel and everyone else! I'm happy for you, Sarah, it sounds as though Salem is really agreeing with you, and the routine is beginning to settle… your Quidditch is becoming impressive, even if I can only read about it! Classes, too… I'm not sure if I ever even want to see Harry duel… sounds frightening. Speaking of Harry, he can communicate with dragons? That's incredible! I almost asked Hermione, but then I realised that all of you at Salem would do better with the research… and it's probably not something that you want to advertise to the world, even if it is unlikely that people will try to fight him with dragons… I hope. Still, the public might suddenly decide that it is a 'dark' talent or something like that because people will be scared of it. Think of all of the dangerous things you could do with the talent… imagine if You-Know-Who had been able to communicate with those giant lizards! No 'Light' wizard, or muggle, would have survived the war. We would have all been burnt to crisps within weeks! Enough of those thoughts for now, though. Well, I'll see you in about a month, isn't it? I doubt I will get a letter in that time, do you know why the owls take so long to get through? Probably, though the letter will take too long to answer… this is so frustrating! WE need to get those two-way mirrors that I saw in Diagon Alley at the start of the year, they would be perfect!_

_Anyway, I'll see you soon, _

_Lily. _


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